Doha Film Festival to world-premiere four Qatari features
Four films made in Qatar will have their world premieres — their first public screenings anywhere — as special presentations at the Doha Film Festival, Variety reported on 13 October 2026.
The festival is in its second edition. It will run Nov. 19-27 in Doha, Qatar.
Three of the four are documentaries. One is a drama. “First to Fly,” directed by Rodrigo Vazquez Salessi, follows two young Arab gymnasts who became the first athletes in Qatar’s history to compete at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. “A Very Ordinary Life,” a Qatar-Morocco co-production directed by Mohamed Deniz, centres on a retired Qatari pilot and a young Moroccan art teacher who are father and daughter without knowing it.
“Jodari Meno,” directed by Jamal Al Khanji, tracks the film-maker’s own attempt to land a world-record dogtooth tuna. “When the News Breaks You,” directed by Hamad Al Hajri, looks at the risks faced by journalists reporting from war zones across the Middle East. A special episode of “Elzam,” a documentary series produced by Katara Studios about falconers on hunting expeditions, will also screen in the Qatari selection.
Three of the features — “Jodari Meno,” “A Very Ordinary Life” and “First to Fly” — were supported by Media City Qatar working with the Doha Film Institute. The institute’s CEO, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, also serves as festival director.
The home-grown premieres will sit outside the main competition. The festival also runs a Made in Qatar strand for short films. Its competition line-up holds 15 titles, mostly Middle East premieres, with seven directed by women. Yemeni-Scottish film-maker Sara Ishaq’s “The Station” will open the festival.
The wider international slate was set out on 8 October 2026 in an announcement from the festival, which said the 15-film selection spans four continents, Doha Film Institute. Eleven of those titles received support from the Doha Film Institute, and 13 will have their Middle East and North Africa premieres in Doha.
Among them is “Thirteen in Gaza,” the Gaza-shot drama from Hosam Abu Dan about a motherless 13-year-old, Deadline reported on 8 October.
What makes this stand out for audiences is the balance. A young festival is putting four local features on the same programme as films from four continents. For viewers in Doha, this means a chance to see Qatari stories first, in the room where they launch.
